


whatever tomorrow brings

by romanreigning



Series: indifference and dissent [1]
Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, M/M, Set during the 1981 Springbok Tour of new zealand, ambreigns can be viewed as implied or developing, dont worry if you've never heard of the tour before i don't expect anyone to, historical inaccuracies probably, history class made me do it, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-07
Updated: 2016-08-07
Packaged: 2018-08-07 05:04:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7701862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/romanreigning/pseuds/romanreigning
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean and Roman are protesters during the 1981 Springbok Tour. They're about to take part in the biggest protest yet</p>
            </blockquote>





	whatever tomorrow brings

Dean bites his lip and avoids looking up at the blackboard in which the source of his anxiety originates. Around him people are thrilled and loud, all talking over each other about how they're going to end the tour with this one and how they've got it in the bag.

Dean doesn't share their excitement.

As much as he is against the Springbok tour, this just seems too much.

Beside him his friend Seth to talking to one of his class friends and also co-leader of their whole protest group, Daniel Bryan. He can't hear what they're talking about because it's just that loud in there, but his other friend (best friend) sitting on the other side of him seems to sense his anxiety.

"You wanna go outside?" Roman Reigns asks as he squeezes Dean's knee to get his attention. Dean nods quickly and they both stand up, and leave the room without being questioned.

Once outside Dean takes a deep breath.

"I know it seems scary," Roman says after a brief silence, tightening the bun that held his hair up.

"Scary?" Dean laughs. He's been in many protests before; he's not unfamiliar with the action that comes with it, but this . . .

"We don't have to go," Roman suggests, like it's the simplest thing. "We can just-"

"No, we're gonna go," Dean says, knowing how much all of this meant to his friend. He wasn't protesting just because of apartheid; he was also protesting because as a Samoan and a person of colour, what the Springbok tour basically supported was that he didn't matter, and Dean has never seen Roman let shit like that slide. It was personal. It was for his people.

Roman smiles softly like he knows what Dean is thinking, like he's grateful for it.

But it still scares the shit out of Dean.

Yes, he's been in protests. Yes, he's gotten into fights related and unrelated to protests. He's faced everything with fists at the ready and with Roman by his side, but invading a rugby pitch while there's a live crowd of hard-headed die-hard rugby fans and police by the dozens . . .

This is the first time he's been scared.

He doesn't want to be arrested. He doesn't want his father to find out that he protests, because he'd surely get a hell of a beating for that. And he doesn't want his friends to get hurt either.

"We got this, man," Roman reassures, bringing Dean out of his thoughts. "Whatever happens, as long as we stand for what we believe is right, how can we really lose?"

Dean doesn't share his optimism but he smiles anyway, grateful for the attempted reassurance.

"Hey," the door creaks open and Seth pops his head out, "Get back inside, we're going over our plan."

Dean and Roman look at each other for a second, and when their eyes meet Dean feels like there's an unspoken promise that thickens the air between them; a promise that has never been verbalised but has been acknowledged many times in many ways in the many years they've had each other's backs.

_We're gonna do whatever it takes to fight for what we believe in, and I'll be right by your side for all of it._

Dean's not sure who promises it, but he guesses maybe it's just one of those mutual things.

* * *

"So we're gonna just, we're just ripping the fence down?"

The day of the Hamilton game comes so quickly Dean's not even sure time passed at all.

"Yeah, just ripping it down," Seth confirms, sounding all too calm. How come no one realises what they're about to do? The game is being televised to South Africa for God's sake. Live. 

All his nerves are back and the game isn't that far away anymore. Basically everyone is ready. They were just waiting.

Roman had 'convinced' aka dragged him to the front line, so that they'd most likely be the first on the pitch, alongside Seth and Daniel and Roman's cousins and many of their class friends.

There was a certain weight to this moment that Dean had never felt before. The tour was racist and he was against that, yes. His friends were effected personally by the tour and that made him mad, yes. Thousands of people were protesting just like him and that made him feel like they had a chance, yes.

But this was different. he wasn't ready to say that they were about to make history.

But they were about to make history.

Suddenly Daniel appears before him with a bucket and a megaphone. He places the bucket on the ground and there is a bit of laughter as he stands on it in an effort to be tall.

"I know some of you are nervous," he begins, eyes scanning the crowd. "But we have to stay strong if we want to put an end to this tour. This is our biggest protest yet, and it sure as hell isn't our last!" There is a wave of cheers from behind Dean, but he and Roman stay passive, whereas Roman's cousins Jimmy and Jey were hooting and hollering.

"I don't really know what else to say so don't get hurt, don't get arrested, and give 'em hell!"

The crowd almost roars this time and Dean is caught by surprise when every one starts charging in the direction of the fence they planned to take down. Sick, hot adrenaline pools in his veins when he realises, they're doing this, they're about to invade that pitch, he's about to do potentially the coolest and scariest thing he'll ever do in his life.

And Roman like they unspokenly promised, is right by his side. When the fence comes into view the nervousness reaches a boiling point within Dean and he wildly grasps at Roman's hand, his friend unquestioning as he squeezes Dean's hand back. 

They get to the fence and as planned they just go savage on it. Daniel had asked people to bring bolt cutters but as Dean grasps the metal of the chain fence in his hands, he knows they aren't necessary. With all of his might he and dozens of other people pull back on the fence.

By joint human power alone it rips the fence of its posts and the first protesters approach the waiting crowd of rugby fans.

All Dean can hear is white noise and his own heartbeat and Roman takes his hand this time and they practically smash through the crowd of rugby fans who are stunned but throwing obscene curses and even punches at them, and it's only when they break out onto the pitch that Dean fully comes back to the moment.

A few police officers lunge at them in an attempt to restrain them but they dodge and keep running until they reach their group near the middle of the pitch and instantly link arms as they form a circle.

They weren't going anywhere.

Around them, the entire stadium is booing. The entire stadium is chanting 'shame'.

He takes deeps breaths as fear courses through him. Thousands of eyes are on them, thousands of angry, livid eyes are watching their every move, and it's almost too much to take.

He's scared.

More police are making their way over; he can almost feel the sharp metal of the cuffs against his wrists, and as if Roman knows what he's thinking he again grasps his hand, intertwining their fingers this time and Dean notices that his friend's left eye is puffing a little; he'd been struck by someone. It was enough to fuel a rage that drowned out his fear, even if only temporarily.

How can these people turn a blind eye to what really goes on in the Springboks' country? Are they really that selfish to support such a thing? Do they literally value rugby over fighting for basic human rights that everyone deserves?

Officials have made their way onto the pitch and everything has calmed down a considerable amount but Dean can still feel the air crackle with tension around him; they're not leaving until either the game is cancelled or they die trying.

 _"One, two, three, four, we don't want your racist tour!"_ a chant begins, which Dean and Roman readily pick up and practically scream out, as if they could drown out whatever the crowd of privileged, ignorant, uncaring assholes are chanting.

Something is happening somewhere else in their group because the chant changes to _'The whole world is watching!'_ and he picks it up without a second thought, because yeah, they're doing this for the whole world to see and for the whole world to hear. He feels the passion deep in his bones, he knows he's doing the right thing because no matter what some drunkard rugby fans say, no matter what political leaders say, they will not sit back and let their country support something so vile and racist. He chants louder.

A man is making his way around the group of protesters, shouting abuse at them for how stupid they are and how stupid what they're doing is.

"Bloody Maori fucker!" he shouts at Roman when he sees him. "Just let them play the game, stop throwing a hissy."

"Go fuck yourself you racist cunt!" Roman roars, and Dean is trying to hold Roman back, but only just, because his own anger is reaching a peak at the man's insult. "Racist bastard!"

A few minutes later things are much calmer because some kind of high up police guy is talking with Daniel and trying to convince him to get them off the pitch but Dean knows Daniel could never make them even if he tried.

He notices that he's also linked arms with Sami Zayn for the first time, and he doesn't know how that didn't register in his mind before.

He starts to feel a little scared again, but he knows that whatever happens after this, at least they tried, and they'll continue to try, no matter what.

"Due to safety reasons, I regret to announce that this game has been cancelled," Bob Walton announces through a megaphone.

Shock fills Dean for a second, and then overwhelming joy and glee. He looks at both Sami and Roman and sees it reflected back to him. _We did it!_

But the celebration is short lasting because they aren't the only ones there and they are horribly outnumbered. Furious rugby fans are jumping the barricade and are starting to charge at them. Daniel must've yelled something because suddenly everyone is scattering as police advance or hold back people from the crowd. Dean grabs Roman's wrist and they run.

They aren't met with any police trying to arrest them, in fact most are now just trying to hold back disgruntled fans to let them pass through semi-safely.

But it doesn't stop Dean's heart picking up it's pace again, and when a beer bottle flies past inches from his face, he knows there's good chance they might not come out unscathed.

They pass close by some people in their attempt to get off the pitch, all of which take swings at them but he keeps running, yelling out in pain when a beer bottle that must've been full hits his back with enough force to break. Not long after Roman stumbles a little and Dean thinks he'd been punched but there is no time to worry about that as they finally break free of the crowd and continue running away from the grounds, other protesters fleeing alongside them.

They run and run and run until Dean's legs just kind of give out on him and and falls to the ground in one of the city's parks, breathing fast and hard. Roman sits down beside him, breathing equally as hard and covering his left eye with his hand.

"Holy shit," Dean breathes, earning a chuckle from Roman.

"They're gonna, write this one in the history books," Roman puffs out as well, feeling surprisingly giddy with relief after all the rage filled chanting and running. "We got the game cancelled. We made them cancel the game."

Dean puffs out laughter and so does Roman, and for a moment, they are at peace. 

They finally made a real impact and showed the nation that they are serious and that they will never, ever support this racist tour. They won't stop until the whole thing is cancelled. They're gonna _make_ the whole world watch.

But for now they lay on the grass in a park and just laugh, because they did it, they fucking _did it_.

But there is so much more to come, and it's nowhere near over.

Dean just hopes they get everyone out of this alive, that they'll always be able to fight for their tomorrow. 

But for now, they'll take this victory.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm slightly unhappy with the ending because I _know_ how the tour ended and I'll tell ya, the protesters kind of did nothing in the grand scheme of things. So I wrote more of this showcasing how it tore rifts between family members and effected people's relationships and how it wasn't always happy ending victories, but I doubt people would wanna read it. I don't know why I feel so passionately about all of this, and no one else I know even cares about it, but it's just such a defining period in my county's history and I get so emotional every time I see footage from the pitch invasion. It's the closest my country has ever come to civil war.


End file.
